WASHINGTON Republicans held onto their slim Senate majority today, a stinging blow to Democrats in a night full of them. Democrats had been nearly certain of retaking control but saw their hopes fizzle as endangered GOP incumbents won in Missouri, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and even Democratfriendly Wisconsin. GOP-held New Hampshire remained too close to call […]

NEW YORK Thanksgiving Day shopping — a delight to some, an anathema to others — isn’t going away, but some stores are rethinking their strategies on whether it makes sense to be open on the holiday itself. Many of the nation’s major mall operators and the big retailers that anchor them, such as Toys R […]

AZUSA, Calif. A gunman was on a cocaine binge when he randomly opened fire Tuesday in a peaceful Southern California neighborhood, killing a 77-year-old neighbor and wounding two women at random before police shot him, authorities said. The 45-year-old man was found dead in the entryway to an Azusa home, ending an hours-long standoff east […]

NEW YORK A former home health aide rolled her eyes and insisted she wasn’t guilty as she was charged Tuesday with shoving a woman onto the subway tracks under Times Square, killing her. Prosecutors said Melanie Liverpool had confessed to killing 49-year-old Connie Watton, of Queens, but she rebuffed the claim at her arraignment on […]

A judge announced Tuesday that he has ordered another competency exam for a white man charged with killing nine black parishioners at a Charleston church one day after halting jury selection because of a motion from defense attorneys. The exam for Dylann Roof is underway and should be finished by next week. Federal Judge Richard […]

LONDON The world faces a starkly different America led by a President Donald Trump. While the billionaire businessman’s election was welcomed in some countries, others saw it as a big shock, as governments will now have to deal with a man who has cozied up to Vladimir Putin, told NATO allies they would have to […]

LONDON Conciliatory comments from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the aftermath of his stunning victory over Hillary Clinton helped global stock markets and the dollar trim their hefty losses today. Though uncertainty remains over Trump’s trade, immigration and geopolitical policies, investors appeared somewhat soothed by his victory speech, in which he praised Clinton and urged […]

PESHAWAR, Pakistan Pakistan on today deported National Geographic’s famed green-eyed “Afghan Girl” to her native Afghanistan after a regional court had convicted her on charges of carrying a forged Pakistani ID card and staying in the country illegally. The case of Sharbat Gulla has drawn international attention and criticism of Pakistani authorities over their perceived […]

NEW DELHI Indians awakened to confusion today as banks and ATMs remained closed after the government withdrew the highest-denomination currency notes overnight to halt money laundering in a country where many in the poor and middle-class still rely mainly on cash. Roadside vegetable sellers, kiosks selling biscuits and tea, small mom-and-pop stores selling groceries, all […]

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico An ardent supporter of statehood for Puerto Rico won the governor’s race on the island Tuesday, after campaigning on a pledge to turn the economically troubled U.S. territory into the 51st state during his term. Ricardo Rossello of the New Progressive Party had nearly 42 percent, or 566,000 votes, when his […]